The National Association of Black Journalists named John Tucker’s “Knockout King: Kids Call It a Game. Academics Call It a Bogus Trend. Cops Call it Murder” the winner for Feature/Single Story in its 2011 Salute to Excellence Awards.

Timothy Lane

On the blustery morning of April 16, Hoang Nguyen and his wife, Yen, left their Dutchtown apartment to go grocery shopping, a Saturday routine. After bidding goodbye to their 25-year-old son, Kenny, the couple strolled east on Chippewa Street, crossing Spring and Giles avenues, then headed south on Grand Boulevard toward their market.

Hoang, a 72-year-old retired schoolteacher and avid painter, immigrated with his wife to St. Louis three-and-a-half years ago from their native Vietnam. The couple wanted to be closer to their daughter, Lan, who'd married an American and settled in south county. Kenny joined his parents six months later. By now the Nguyens were fixtures in Dutchtown's growing Vietnamese community and active parishioners at Resurrection of Our Lord. Recently Hoang had begun taking English classes at the International Institute of St. Louis nearby.

The Nguyens ticked off the items on their shopping list — fish, vegetables, noodles — filling their pushcart with grocery bags. Security-camera footage shows the diminutive husband embracing a friend at the cash register as his 59-year-old wife laughs nearby.

In the months that preceded the attack on the Nguyens, Elex Murphy (at Valley Springs Youth Ranch) had reinvented himself with falsehoods, telling acquaintances that his mother was dead, that he was from Atlanta and that he attended Washington University.

When the Nguyens left the grocer at about 10:30, they took a shortcut home through the alley that parallels Chippewa to the south. They'd been taking this route for months; though it made Yen nervous, the alley's gradual slope made it easier for her elderly husband to maneuver their pushcart.

Midway down the alley, Nguyen's cart stopped suddenly — seemingly for no reason. "It was like it was a sign saying we shouldn't go that way," Yen says in hindsight. When Hoang got the wheels moving again, they looked up and saw two young men and two young women approaching.

Moments later, one of the men charged.

Hoang stepped in front of his wife to protect her, she recalls. The man grabbed Hoang's jacket as he pleaded for mercy, shouting, "No, no, no!"

"Jason" considers himself a typical fourteen-year-old. "I got a good family background," he asserts by phone from his mother's house in St. Louis County, on a morning when he decided to skip school after oversleeping.

Jason, who asked RFT to use a pseudonym, recently moved to the county from south city, where he attended Fanning Middle School, near Grand Boulevard and not far from the Nguyen household. It was during his middle-school years that he was introduced to Knockout King.

Jason is talking about a ritual — those who participate call it a game — that has been adopted by young teens across the St. Louis area. Once an elusive phenomenon that flew under the local radar, the game exploded onto the collective consciousness with the media reports that followed the attack on Hoang Nguyen.

Along with a generalized sense of fear, there was befuddlement: What would drive a young person to sucker punch a defenseless stranger purely for sport?

"It was just a little game," says Jason. "We used to walk to where a lot of people be at and hit 'em. If one of the homeboys didn't knock him out, then the other would come. Whoever knock him out would be king."

The rules of Knockout King are straightforward, according to Jason and other former players interviewed for this article. A lead attacker is chosen from among a group of boys, usually young adolescents. Next a target is picked out. Then the attacker either charges the unsuspecting victim or motions for his attention. When the target turns or lifts his head, the attacker strikes. If the victim is felled by the punch, the group usually scatters. But if the target withstands the blow, other members of the group may follow up with their fists to finish the job. "Some people kick, but I ain't used to kick," says Jason. "I just punched."

Jason says he began playing when he was about eleven and that his group once knocked out five people in one night. Did victims ever lose consciousness? "Probably," he concedes. "I would think about it afterward, but then the thoughts go away, like it never happened."

For some victims of the assaults, the memories eventually fade away as well.

Others find it harder to forget.

Harder for 80-year-old Rafael Quiroz, who was hit on the back of his head last year while standing on a corner of Michigan Avenue in broad daylight. The blow knocked him to the ground and bloodied him. "Physically he's OK now, but mentally he won't go on walks like he used to," says Quiroz's granddaughter, Lucy Rosales.

Harder for John Stuhlman, 36, who was hit in the head last year while walking home from work, leaving him with dizzy spells that persisted for two weeks. "I freaked out and took off down the street, and he tried to chase me," recalls Stuhlman, who now avoids walking the streets late at night. "He was upset because I didn't fall down. He even said something like, "I hit you, and you fall down.'"

Harder for John Henry Muhrer, 35, who was assaulted by a group of kids in near Tower Grove Park a few years ago. The lead attacker distracted him by tossing a small bike in his path, then swooped in. "He hit me pretty hard," says Muhrer. "Never saw it coming."

no they weren't --- the level of indifference with the police was pathetic - they didn't even call an ambulance -- but I guess my point is this was going on in st. louis 23 yrs ago -- this isn't a "new game"

I've been victim to this myself. Sorry to say but the profile fits. If you want to ignore the profile, Tara Daniels, cause it makes you uncomfortable to admit it, well, then you are part of the problem.

I believe the RFT may have reposted this due to a young 20 something year old woman getting knocked out and her eye socket shattered as she was leaving a place of business near Tower Grove and Grand about a week or 2 ago. They were calling it a "knock out attack".

If you see a BLACK SAVAGE or a
GROUP of BLACK SAVAGES moving toward you in a THREATENING MANNER remember to
pull your WEAPON and DISCHARGE it as a FIRST RESORT, rather than a LAST RESORT,
which could possible result in the loss of your LIFE or the LIFE of a BELOVED
FAMILY MEMBER or FRIEND!

GOD BLESS U.S. and LORD PLEASE PROTECT U.S. from all these EVIL BLACK
SAVAGES, looking to HARM U.S. for their ENTERTAINMENT!

Oh, by the WAY, before I FORGET, as a SCHOOL SYSTEM DISCIPLINE FACILATOR, CERTIFIED
SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGIST and as a TEACHER with over 30-years of PUBLIC SCHOOL
EXPERIENCE! The KNOCK OUT GAME has been going inside of AMERICA’S PUBLIC
SCHOOLS for the past 50-years!

ANSWER: No PARENT in their right mind wants to send their CHILDREN off to
SCHOOL with a BUNCH of RUTHLESS BLACK SAVAGES! BLACK SAVAGES that will RAPE,
ROB or KILL their CHILDREN and make it IMPOSSIBLE for them to be SUCCESSFUL in
SCHOOL.

FACT: AMERICA’S inner-city PUBLIC SCHOOLS currently SPEND more TIME, ENERGY
and MONEY on trying to maintain ORDER and DISCIPLINE than they do on
INSTRUCTION!

“WHITE FRIGHT is the PRECUSOR to WHITE FLIGHT!”

FACT: WHITE PEOPLE will HOME-SCHOOL their CHILDREN before sending them off
to inner-city PUBLIC SCHOOLS that look like a scene from PLANET of the APES!

FACT: Our Nation’s inner-city PUBLIC SCHOOL provide a great atmosphere for
DRUG DEALERS, THUG LIFERS, LITTLE TRAYVONS, TINY TUPACERS, PEOPLE PARASITES,
PROJECT PEOPLE, AFRICAN QUEENS, GOLDEN GRILLERS, CRACKHEADS, CAVEMEN, KNOCK OUT
WHITEYERS, BLACK PANTHERS, FELONS, CONVICTS, ANTI-CAPITALISTS, ENTITLEMENTERS, etc.
As a SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGIST and PROFESSIONAL EDUCATORS to say that our NATION’S
PUBLIC SCHOOLS have become UNSAFE HAVENS for our CHILDREN would be a GROSS
UNDER-STATEMENT!

INNER-CITY SCHOOL SYSTEMS throughout AMERICA are now EMPLOYING FULLY-STAFFED
MEDICAL TEAMS to TREAT the WOUNDED and TRANSPORT the CRITICALLY INJURED to HOSPITALS
and the DEAD to the MORGUE!

I actually visited an inner-city school in the GREATER NEW ORLEANS AREA recently,
and the SCHOOL NURSE was actually carrying around “TOE TAGS”, and some of them,
although UNDATED, already had the STUDENT’S NAMES and DEMOGRAPHICS FILLED-IN!
She told me that she does this at the beginning of each week in an attempt to
keep up with her CASELOAD, which she described as being HEAVY!

The SCHOOL NURSE went on to tell me about a WOUNDED 400 pound FEMALE STUDENT
who was recently discovered LYING in a POOL of BLOOD in the MIDDLE of the HALLWAY
outside of the RESTROOM on the 4th FLOOR. She said that the school
was so UNDER-STAFFED it took her and the JANITOR over 45-minutes to carry the
VICTIM down 4-flights of stairs! She said that by the time they got him down to
where the PARAMEDICS were supposed to meet them, they had already left! She
said that numerous calls, texts, faxes and electronic messages to the CORONER’S
OFFICE were never returned! From what I understand the STUDENT’S BODY is now
DECOMPOSING in the BASEMENT of the SCHOOL!

… but don’t tell ANYBODY, cause no body is supposed to KNOW!

On an even SADER NOTE, I actually HEARD through the EDUCATIONAL GRAPEVINE
that things are much WORSE in up in ST. LOUIS!

23 years ago I was going into a grocery store & there were some I'd guess 20 something yr olds standing by the door, I was with another person -- 1 punch & they broke my jaw in 2 places - the store didn't want to call the police or ambulance even though I was bleeding pretty badly - the police were uninterested - I sued the store since it was not the first time this happened there - and they settled out of court years later - I still have PTSD from the event (I was pregnant & had to have my jaws wired shut on valium) and still have trouble going to the store

1) The article is two years. What is going on now? Was this a local trend or is it an ongoing problem? Why has the RFT reposted this without any context to how this relates to current stories?
2) From what I have read in this article and others, there have been more news reports than police reports. In other words, the evidence that this is an epidemic are murky. Not saying this hasn't happened or isn't happened, just saying it might not be as widespread as it's being made out to be. Hence, it being called a "myth".
3) Some of the victims never saw their attackers. There are reports that the suspects have not just been people of color. All the victims have not been white. Yet, all the comments are focused on race. I wonder why.
4) No one is talking about the fact that the majority of the suspects are men. Maybe we should be focusing on why this showing of male violence has gotten out of hand.

So far I have only saw African american little thugs that think they are bad do this. They think because they knockout some old person that they are cool. I would love for one of them to try this on me and see what happens. It should be a mandatory 10 year prison sentence for this ignorant behavior no matter the age. Go after the parents for raising crappy kids too.

I agree with Tommy.There is no such thing as reverse racism, there is only racism.Also, This shit doesn't happen where I'm from.....you wanna know why?! Cuz where I'm from you'll get shot doing that shit! Sometimes Texas does things right!

several major information outlets published articles yesterday about the "myth" of the knockout game. the desire to dispel hannity-style racist exaggerations is admirable, but suggesting that this kind of acting out is a fiction is irresponsible. the articles would have been more effective had they argued that knockout incidents should not be reported as national trends, but rather as the local crimes that they are.

It's guys committing a crime. It's good to hear that they are going to class it as a felony and treat 14 yr olds as an adult. If a white or Spanish guy was committing the crime against blacks, Sharpton, Oprah and Obama would be all over it. Where are they now? They should be asking them to stop, and telling them that they are an embarrassment to all African-Americans.

These criminals should be caned! They would think twice about harming others. Until we put some physical punishment into our system, there will be absolutely no moral change among these kinds of people. They aren't scared of anything! Why would they be?

It is the 'normalization' of gratuitous violence, and a complete denigration of any social morality amongst the perpetrators. Or should they be called traitors? At least to the concepts of respect and common decency.

I'm not sure exactly what you're calling dumb? The term reverse racism... because racism is racism, regardless of the race of the offender, and offended, or if you're saying it's dumb that racism against whites happens. Because EVERY race is on the receiving end of racism from other races.

I believe it's a crime. What if they punch a pregnant woman and she dies? Then what? This crime better stop before it gets too late or gets worse. I swear, if that happens to me while I'm walking somewhere, they'd better watch out.

I was just reading a piece in the L.A. Times by columnist Robin Abcarian titled "'Knockout game is a myth that demonizes black youths." Apparently she does not do research on her articles.
http://www.latimes.com/#ixzz2limKncqm

NAAWP: GRETA VAN SUSTEREN is WRONG, DEAD WRONG!GRETA thinks that if YOUNG BLACK THUGS knock a WHITE PERSON OUT then STEALS their WALLET, PURSE, PHONE or JEWELRY that’s not a HATE CRIME, it’s just ROBBERY!

NAAWP calls "BULLSHYT"

ASSAULT and ROBBERY on a PERSON of another RACE is AWAYS an EFFIN HATE CRIME!

GRETA’S statements have really ANGERED MEMBERS of the NAAWP! A MEMBERS considered HIRING someone to KNOCK GRETA OUT, but we were able to talk her out of it, get her some COUSELING and put her on some PSYCHO-TROPICS!

FACT: Any time a BLACK PERSON RAPES, ROBS or MURDERS a totally innocent WHITE, HISPANIC, ASIAN or MUSLIM it’s ALWAYS a HATE CRIME!

@fatuouscra I think I'll boycott you instead. I have no doubt that these crimes are racially motivated. I also have no doubt that you're a racist looney bird. You see, it's both sides of the extreme. I can't stand either.

@Charles James First of all, it's "we're" and "they're". Your inability to form a sentence is pretty revealing as to why your opinion seems to be "f them, we gonna get ours". Secondly, you need to take a good hard look at the crime statistics in this city. The majority of homicides in STL are black-on-black. You know it, you just don't want to admit it.